1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image information reading device for reading image information and, more particularly, to an image reading device for reading image information through manual scanning of a scanner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Scanner devices are known as image reading devices for reading image information. For example, an illustration or the like drawn on a piece of paper is read as image information using a scanner device and is displayed on a monitor or is stored in an image memory.
A conventional handy scanner will now be described with reference to FIG. 1(a) through FIG. 1(d) and FIG. 2.
FIG. 1(a) through FIG. 1(d) are a plane view, side view, bottom view, and front view, respectively, of the handy scanner. The numeral 2 designates a window portion through which a user can check a picture to be read, and 3 designates an image reading portion. A light emitting portion is disposed in the image reading portion 3, and light from the light emitting portion is directed from the image reading portion 3 to a picture or the like to be read. The light reflected therefrom is read as image information and is digitized, The image data thus read are supplied through a cable C to a predetermined apparatus. The numeral 4 designates a read button which is pushed by a user to perform an image reading operation. As shown in FIG. 1(c), cylindrical rollers 5 and 6 are provided on the bottom of the scanner 1 to allow the scanner to be slide-moved.
When the handy scanner 1 having such a configuration is placed on an image drawn on, for example, a piece of paper, the main body of the handy scanner 1 is manually supported in this state with the rollers 5 and 6, and is manually linearly moved. For example, the handy scanner 1 is placed on a piece of paper P as shown in FIG. 2, and is manually caused to scan in the direction of the arrow A from the position indicated by the dashed line to the position indicated by the solid line with the read button 4 held down. Then, the image of an illustration or the like drawn on the piece of paper P at the portion facing the image reading portion 3 on the bottom is read during this sliding motion.
As shown in FIG. 2, the direction of one side in which the handy scanner 1 reads is referred to as a horizontal scanning direction and the direction which is orthogonal to the horizontal scanning direction and in which reading is performed by sliding the handy scanner 1 is referred to as vertical scanning direction.
Such a handy scanner 1 is configured so that it can be linearly moved with the three rollers 5, 5 and 6. However, if the image to be read such as a picture is drawn on an object which is slippery for the rollers 5, 5 and 6 such as stone or glass which is somewhat humid, a slip of the rollers 5, 5 and 6 makes it difficult to linearly slide the handy scanner 1 in the vertical scanning direction. This has made it difficult to read image information of interest.
When an image drawn on a soft object such as a cloth e.g., a pattern on a tie or handkerchief is read, it is very difficult to move the handy scanner 1 in the vertical scanning direction to read the image of interest because the soft cloth may wrinkle preventing the rollers 5, 5 and 6 from smoothly rotating. This has resulted in a problem that a user must perform a troublesome operation of linearly sliding the handy scanner 1 in the vertical scanning direction while stretching the cloth or the like to hold it taut.
In addition, it is difficult for a user to know the dimensions of an image which can be read by the handy scanner 1 and, consequently, to know in advance in what size and how an image will be read.
Specifically, one side of an image to be read, i.e. the horizontal scanning direction can be identified by means such as a mark provided on the window portion of the handy scanner 1, but the other side, i.e. the vertical scanning direction can not be recognized accurately. In other words, one can not tell up to which position on a picture will be read as image data when the handy scanner 1 is slid. In order to exactly know the area which will be read, the area must be confirm by measuring the length thereof on the picture to be read.
Thus, it is not easy for a user to know in advance in what size and how an image will be read. Therefore, in most cases, an image is read by moving the handy scanner 1 on the image at a rough estimate. The image information which has been read is checked on a monitor or the like and the reading of the image using the hand scanner 1 must be repeated many times until the image information thus read agrees with the estimate the operator has. This has made the reading operation very complicated.